Treating Gum Disease and Loose Teeth

When it comes to oral health, there are plenty of steps you can take at home to prevent any condition from becoming chronic or affecting you to such an extent as to put your dental structures in danger. Yet when it comes to treating gum disease and loose teeth, there is precious little you can do prior to visiting your dentist’s office. Granted, there is nary an American on this planet that will happily and excitedly plan a visit to the dental health care professional and by and large many would rather brush, floss and rinse seven times a day if this could mean staying away from the dentist.

Unfortunately, this is not an option and who attempt to continue on treating gum disease away from the dentist’s chair will soon find that the loosening of their teeth is worsening rather than getting better. This of course presents the average sufferer with the inescapable truth: treating gum disease and loose teeth must begin in your dentist’s office and the sooner you set up the appointment and get help, the less treatment you will require.

The goal your dentist will have when treating your conditions will be determined by her or his findings after a thorough examination. At the heart of the procedures of course will be the halting and reversal of any condition, but the extent to which your dentist will have to go to affect this depends on the time that has elapsed since you first noticed your gum disease and the time that you are finally taking a seat in the dentist’s chair.

Most any treatment will commence with a routine cleaning that seeks to eradicate plaque and tartar at the gum line. If it is indicated that the gum disease has progressed further, the dentist will recommend scaling and root planing, which effectively removes these substances from the roots of the teeth as well as below the gum line. Loosening of the teeth may be treated with a skin graft – if receding gums are to blame – or if tooth loss is inevitable, it may include the fitting for bridge work or dental implants.

These latter options are at the discretion of the patient since they may be rather costly and the more natural a look you are pursuing, the more expensive the treatment will be. Treating gum disease and loose teeth does not stop in your dentist’s office, however, and proper follow up at home is required. This includes an adjustment of your oral care regimen as indicated by the dentist and also the meticulous adherence to follow up visits and examinations.

In some cases your dentist will suggest a prescription for an antibiotic to fight a bacterial infection that may have progressed far enough so as to be of concern to the health of other bodily systems. While antibiotics have gotten a bad reputation in recent years because of their overuse, it is imperative to understand that there are a good many reasons why they should be used and treating gum disease is one such occasion where using antibiotics may be a vital component in affecting oral overall health.